50% 50%

175THE NUMBER OF TIMES WE WOULD CIRCLE THE EARTH IF EVERY HUMAN

HELD HANDS

CHINA, INDIA, USA, INDONESIA, BRAZIL, AND PAKISTAN ACCOUNT FOR

HALF THE WORLD’S POPULATION.

everyoneelse

the top 6 mostpopulated countries

25%

MORE THAN

PEOPLE ON EARTH ARE CHINESE OR INDIAN.

1 3INJULY

Youth, ages 15 – 24,make up

of Earth’spopulation.

IN 2014,WERE MORE

CELLPHONESTHAN PEOPLEON EARTH.

THERE

Canada

The 8 Billionth

WORLDhuman will be born in

PopulationDay is

2024.

THE WORLD’S POPULATION IS

205xTHE SIZE OF

CANADA’S POPULATION.

the World

THE AGRICULTURAL AND INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTIONSWith the development of agriculture 12 000 years ago, humans started to create settlements—places where we could live as a community. Crops and animals could be farmed to supply food for greater numbers of people.

The world’s population increased dramatically during the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. This was a time of agricultural revolution: new farming techniques, such as the horse-drawn hoe and seed drill, were invented. These new farming methods meant that people could produce more food, more efficiently. Larger numbers of people could then be fed, leading to population increases.

Eventually, fewer people needed to work on farms to provide food for the community. People began to move away from rural, or countryside, areas to find different work in urban centres. The growing population in urban centres led to the Industrial Revolution, which began in the late eighteenth century.

The Industrial Revolution saw major changes in technology and manufacturing. The steam engine was an important invention of the time. Improvements in sanitation, medicine, and nutrition helped fight against deadly diseases like smallpox, cholera, and typhoid. The world’s population grew from 700 million to 1 billion people during the Industrial Revolution.

Human geography is the study of the interaction between humans and their environment. Studying the dynamics of a population, or group of people, can help us understand our interactions with the environment.

The UN predicts that our global population will hit 9.6 billion people by 2050. Figure 1.1 contains additional population statistics. The world population will keep growing for the next century. What will this mean for our existing cities and towns? How will cities like Kolkata, India (Figure 1.2), change as the world becomes more populated?

HOW IS

EARTH’S POPULATION CHANGING?

population a group or type of people

rural areas or populations outside cities

urban areas or populations inside cities or towns

FIGURE 1.2 This is a street scene in Kolkata, India. More than 14.4 million people live in Kolkata, and 400 000 more people arrive each year.

FIGURE 1.1 This infographic displays some 2014 global population statistics, but the global population is always changing. Which statistic stands out to you?

I wonder how cities looked before the Industrial Revolution?

CHAPTER 1: Population Patterns and Growth 19NEL18 UNIT 1: Global Settlement: Patterns and Sustainability NEL

Population growth is also influenced by other factors:• Population demographics: The proportions of younger and older people

in a population affect how fast it grows. Countries with a high percentage of people aged 15 to 45, like Mexico, will grow much faster than countries with a high percentage of elderly people, like Japan (Figure 1.4).

• Social attitudes: Different cultures have different norms for family size. Where large families are common, the population growth rate may be higher.

• Economy: Economic stability reduces the need for a large family. Living in an area with a strong economy can provide more opportunities for jobs and education. A population with a high proportion of employed females may have a lower growth rate.

• Education: As education levels increase, particularly for women, the average marriage age increases. Women who marry later tend to have fewer children, which lowers the birth rate.

• Healthcare: Where people have access to hospitals, doctors, and health services, more children are likely to survive to adulthood. Better healthcare can increase the growth rate.

UNDERSTANDING CHANGES IN POPULATIONS One type of geography is demography. Demographers examine data about human populations, learning about where and how people live. Demographers use tools like a census, which asks people questions that help them create a description of a population’s characteristics. This research helps us understand why people live where they do.

One statistic that demographers use to describe populations is growth rate. Growth rate is the increase or decrease in a population over a unit of time, usually a year. A positive growth rate means that a population has increased. A negative growth rate means that a population has decreased. For example, a growth rate of 5 percent for a population of 100 people means that the population has increased by five people in one year.

FACTORS INFLUENCING GROWTH RATEThe birth rate, death rate, and amount of migration have the biggest impact on a population’s growth rate. Birth rate and death rate refer to the number of people who are born and die in a year. Migration describes the number of people who permanently leave or move into an area.

Around the world, the rate of population growth is not equal. Europe has 0.2 percent growth, while Africa is growing by nearly 3 percent every year. Though 3 percent may seem like a small increase, based on a population of 1.1 billion in 2014, Africa’s population grows by 33 million people a year.

Figure 1.3 shows the growth of the human population since the start of the Industrial Revolution. The growth rate increased sharply after 1900. The number of people on Earth is expected to pass 10 billion in the year 2062. The growth rate is predicted to decrease after we reach this number. This decrease would be mostly due to lower birth rates.

demography the study of human population statistics

growth rate a number that shows the increase or decrease in a population during a certain period of time

Estimated World Population Growth, 1760 to 2100

1800

1750

1700

1850

1900

1950

2000

2050

2100

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

Nu

mb

er

of

pe

op

le (

bil

lio

ns)

Year

start ofIndustrialRevolution

end ofIndustrialRevolution

actual estimated

FIGURE 1.3 This graph shows the growth of the human population since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. The graph also shows estimated population growth to the year 2100.

economy the system by which goods and services are produced, sold, and bought in a country or region

birth rate the number of live births per thousand people every year

death rate the number of deaths per thousand people every year

migration the movement of people from one place to another

FIGURE 1.4 Almost one quarter of Japan’s population is over the age of 65. Its total population has declined by nearly 1 million people since 2010.

I wonder what other factors affect Japan’s growth rate?

20 UNIT 1: Global Settlement: Patterns and Sustainability NEL CHAPTER 1: Population Patterns and Growth 21NEL

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0.4 billion 0.4 billion

20502013

North Americagrowth rate: 0.4%

0.7 billion 0.7 billion

20502013

Europe (including Russia)growth rate: 0.2%

0.6 billion 0.8 billion

20502013

Latin America/Caribbeangrowth rate: 1.3%

1.1 billion

2.4 billion

20502013

Africagrowth rate: 2.6%

4.3 billion5.3 billion

20502013

Asia/Middle Eastgrowth rate: 1.1%

CHECK-IN

1. INTERRELATIONSHIPS Create a flow chart to show

events that increased the worldwide growth

rate. Which event do you think had the greatest

impact on population growth?

2. PATTERNS AND TRENDS Review Figure 1.5.

Summarize the current pattern of population

growth for each region.

3. INTERPRET AND ANALYZE What factors might

have influenced the pattern you described

in question 2?

4. COMMUNICATE Use an example to explain the

difference between a place with low carrying

capacity and a place with high carrying capacity.

5. EVALUATE AND DRAW CONCLUSIONS Examine

Figure 1.5. Identify three rate changes between

2013 and 2050. Give a possible reason for

each change based on what you have read in

this section.

6. GEOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE Review Figure 1.6.

Imagine your community becomes

overpopulated. What challenges might arise?

THE IMPACT OF A GROWING POPULATIONOver the past few decades, the worldwide growth rate has actually declined from over 2 percent to 1 percent. Since the world currently has 7.3 billion people, 1 percent growth will add about 73 million people annually. These new people will need food, clothing, shelter, and water. How long can our resources last?

Overpopulated regions do not have the resources to support a growing population. Carrying capacity measures the maximum population that can survive without using up resources. For example, if a region has limited farmland, it can only produce a certain amount of food for its people. If the population increases, demanding more food than can be produced, its carrying capacity is reduced.

Overpopulation can impact natural resources like land, water, and air. Too many people in an area can also drain social resources, like welfare and housing. Figure 1.6 describes some of these challenges.

FIGURE 1.5 This map shows the estimated 2050 populations for different regions. Each estimate is based on the region’s current annual growth rate.

FIGURE 1.6 (A) Ethiopia’s Renaissance Dam could affect water flow to Egypt. (B) People line up at an unemployment office in Spain. (C) Garbage piles up on a roadside in Naples, Italy.

carrying capacity the maximum number of people that a region can support without running out of resources

A. Resources and land use

Challenge– Larger populations need more resources

and land.

– People fight over limited resources.

ExampleThere is conflict in Egypt and Ethiopia over their

shared water supply.

B. Poverty

Challenge– Jobs may not be available for everyone.

– The cost of living may increase as resources

run out.

ExampleIn many countries, such as Spain, more than half of

the youth (ages 18 to 24) are unemployed.

C. Pollution

Challenge– More people means more waste is produced.

– Air quality is reduced as the population grows

and creates more pollution.

ExampleLarge cities like Naples, Italy, struggle to deal with

the waste people create.

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DJIBOUTI

YEMEN

SAUDI ARABIA

SUDAN

EGYPT

LIBYA

CHAD

ETHIOPIA

ERITREA

SOMALIA

OMAN

U.A.E.

DJIBOUTI

ETHIOPIA

ERITREA

QATAR

BAHRAIN

LIBYA

BAHRAIN

Nile River

ArabianSea

Red Sea

400 km0

N

locationof dam

C

A

B

POPULATION CHANGES VARY BY REGIONThe differences in growth rate for some world regions are shown in Figure 1.5. North America and Europe have slow growth in comparison to Africa, which will more than double in population by 2050. Asia will have over 5 billion people in 2050, but its growth rate is slowing down.

22 UNIT 1: Global Settlement: Patterns and Sustainability CHAPTER 1: Population Patterns and Growth 23NEL NEL